Animal Kingdom-How long to see park?

[KyMattDisney]

How long should you normally plan to see the AK Park? We will be there July 11-18th and staying first portion of vacation at AKL.....we will be going into AK Park on Sat. July 12th. I have 2 sons, ages 8 & 3 1/2.....how long should we plan to be at this park?

We will be getting there when it opens.........

I know the park is only open 9-5pm............Thanks!!!!!!

We only have been to AK Park once before when my oldest was about 3 but only stayed about 1/2 due to heavy rain.....

 

[RoqueC]

Animal Kingdom is a very big park, and if you want to see everything it'll probably take you a good portion of the day. Since it closes at 5 PM, I'd simply suggest staying there all day. You can have dinner on your exit at the Rainforest Cafe.

 

[daannzzz]

Personally I think it takes the whole day and you could even do part of another day. However there are those who are more interested in the rides only and not the garden walks with the animals and the shows and such. For these people it can take 4-5 hours or less.

 

[Ratpack]

I would say that AK is a full day park if you want to see a lot of the walking parts. If you want the rides only, then half day is plenty. I would actually do two half days instead of one full since you are going in July, the afternoon gets really humid and hot.

 

[Rneighh]

Some people will disagree - but I LOVE AK and think the park takes a whole day or more. To really enjoy the park you need to slow down and explore all the parks nooks and cranies.

Renee

 

[mwerner2]

Unlike the other parks, where many times it is to your advantage to rush around as much as possible, (or as much as you can stand), much of AK needs to be looked at slowly. After you've done Kilimanjaro Safaris, Dinosaur, and Kali River Rapids, you've pretty much "done" all the rides. The rest of the attractions are shows (some of the best in WDW) and quiet animal watching.

My teenagers have a hard time slowing down enough to enjoy AK. If you can slow yourself down enough you should be able to get pre-teens to enjoy the quieter part of AK, and the slower pace will mean that you will spend most of a day at AK.

 

[Tulip]

Our first time there it only took 4 hours. Of course we didnt' do everything but it was enough for what we wanted.

 

[mommystieg]

AK is really a park that needs to be toured slowly to be enjoyed. If you are only looking for the rides you can definitely accomplish that in less than a day but you are cheating yourself. We have been twice, spent the full day there and still missed some things.

 

[cashout]

I would say one day is enough time; however, if your kids are autograph seekers, you could end up spending more time than that easily.

 

[Corinne]

I like AK, but it is a very "hot" park, in that the paths are close together, and there is not a lot of escape into cooler areas. That being said, we usually do the park in several shorter trips, rather than spending an entire day there. Early morning & later in the afternoon are best. We usually go once in the morning & do all we can, then go back later during our trip and hit it in the afteroon til park closing.

 

[invalid_char]

AK is NOT a thrill-seekers park; however, it is by far our FAVORITE theme park! We LOVE AK!! And by 'we', I mean a toddler, a little girl, two teens and parents (OK, the oldest teen likes MGM the best).

We spent the ENTIRE day at AK last time, literally first ones in and last ones out. Even the people who collect the garbage got to know us pretty well, we were there for so long.

There is SO much detail and beauty at this park... we could stay there a long time. If you appreciate great theming, like animals, and are detail-appreciative, then you will also LOVE this park!

We will be extending next year's vacation specifically so we can spend atleast 2 full days here, probably 3.

I'm guessing that the average person will probably only need a day and a half though.

As other posters have mentioned, if you are unwilling to slow down or are just interested in rides, you won't even need a full day. Too bad for you in that case though.

My 4 yo dd favorite overall attraction from all of the parks was Kali River Rapids. She enjoyed it even more than the Cinderella's breakfast we knocked ourselves out to get... if you can believe that!

 

[erikthewise]

I agree with invalid_char. To really enjoy all that AK has to offer is a multi-day adventure. However there is no harm in only spending one day this year, and planning to come back for more next time. Just don't try to "do everything" in one day. Just do some of it, and take your time. Just as an example, one of the things I enjoyed most was a performance of African drummers in Harambe village, near the entrance to the Safari. It lasted 15-20 minutes, but anyone on a schedule or looking to check off attractions would have just breezed by and missed it.

 

[justjen]

We just got back and only spent 1/2 a day in AK. BUT, we could have easily spent more. The next time I am going to allow a whole day (at least) for AK.

 

[pigby]

KyMattDisney

We have planned to go to AK on 7/12 as well - but we are just going late afternoon in time to catch the afternoon parade. BTW, closing time is now 6pm on that day. We will go back a spend a full day on the Saturday afterwards. We are also doing an EE one morning. There is much to see and do - take your time and see all the hidden delights.

 

[Paris]

If you're there once the park opens you can definitely see every major attraction and enjoy many of the smaller details in a day (or less).

Some folks are fanatical about AK. They love the leisurely strolls, meandering about to observe the animals and some can stare at the Tree of Life's sculptures for hours. You'll find out soon enough whether you're one of those or the type that can knock the park off in a few hours once you get there. Schedule your first day at the park early on just in case you fall into the camp of the smitten.

With my family it's a mixed bag. I love it. My wife hates it. My two sons are also split (and they are similar to yours in age, mine being 9 and 4).

Here's my best advice on getting the most out of the park if you are on a limited schedule. Once the park opens you'll see the running of the bulls towards the Safari. Don't follow the herd. AK is a very easy park to get around. Yes, it's the largest at 500 acres but it is actually the smallest park in terms of things to do and ground to cover. You can get from any point in the park to another in 5-10 minutes. But just remember that as the park opens and the crowd goes clockwise you go counter clockwise -- to Dinoland.

AK is brutally hot in the afternoons. It's one of the reasons why the park closes so early (don't believe the "animal park" reasons because Busch Gardens closes at 10:30pm every night this summer). Folks are piling out of the place by 2-3pm. So it's important to get the uncovered attractions done early than just lay low as the day heats up. So this is the plan.

Dinoland first. Dinosaur, Primeval Whirl and Triceratops Spin are the three rides here. You have a cool Boneyard playground that your youngest will like -- possibly the 8 year old too -- but save it for later in the day. All three rides will be walk-ons for the bulk of the first hour of the day. Your 3 1/2 year old won't be tall enough for Primeval Whirl and even if the child meets the 40 inch height requirement for Dinosaur keep in mind that it's an intense dark ride.

From here you can move on to Asia. Kali River Rapids is the only ride there. You will get a little wet, possibly soaked. It's the tamest raft ride in Central Florida, but it too will be a walk-on.

You'll notice that you skipped over a few stage shows (Tarzan in Dinoland, Flights of Wonder in Asia) and an animal walkthrough area in Asia with bats, tigers, tapirs and komodo dragons). Don't worry, you can hit those later. Tarzan is the only one in which the theater might fill up so you would have to arrive early (the same goes for the best show in the park -- Festival of the Lion King at Camp Minnie Mickey).

Believe it or not, you will be done with most of the rides after you hit those four in the first hour. Now it's time to relax and absorb the park. That brings you to Africa. Kilimanjaro Safari is there. If the wait is 15 minutes or less go ahead and do it. If it's longer, grab a FastPass and then either take the train to Rafiki's Planet Watch (or check for a Flights of Wonder show -- or even Festival of the Lion King) until your FastPass time comes up (which should be between an hour or two at 10am-ish).

Stroll around. Do the animal walkthroughs in Asia and Africa. Make the time to see Festival of the Lion King and Tarzan. It's Tough to be a bug is never much of a wait (and it might be too intense for your 3 1/2 year old -- think Honey I Shrunk the Audience with bugs instead). FastPass any of your favorites from early in the day along the way.